Memoriis Viventium
by DancerInTheDark101
Summary: We shall remember the dead, but fight for the living. When the skies fell on that fateful day, nothing was ever the same again. A series of oneshots about key moments in the lives of those in the Second Massachusetts. Set pre-season 1.
1. Ben

**DISCLAIMER: Falling Skies belongs to TNT, Robert Rodat and Steven Spielberg. No copyright infringement intended. **

Here's another one from me… This will be a series of oneshots about key moments in the lives of our favourite resistance group – before season 1.

This chapter is all about Ben – and his harnessing. Hope you enjoy it!

* * *

**MEMORIIS VIVENTIUM**

_**DancerInTheDark101**_

* * *

_We shall remember the dead, but fight for the living. When the skies fell on that fateful day, nothing was ever the same again. A series of oneshots about key moments in the lives of those in the Second Massachusetts. Set pre-season 1._

* * *

-FALLING SKIES-

_Ben_

I just lay there.

I could hear other kids screaming in other rooms around the building, their terrified voices penetrating through the thin walls. I could hear them pleading with our captors; could hear them begging for their parents to save them. Nothing would save them now.

I had given up.

After being taken from Nick's house by the aliens, they had thrown me in a room with about thirty other kids, ranging from just over six years old to eighteen. I had been scared then. I hadn't known what they had wanted with us, no one had. Until one of the older kids had seen one of their friends walk past with what looked like a parasite on their back.

The aliens were doing something to the kids.

We could hear screaming from inside the room. Every so often, an alien would open the door and usher another group of kids out. We knew they'd never be the same again. Once you were out that door, you were pretty much dead.

I cried a lot in that room.

I lost track of time while in there. It could have been hours, it could have been days. I guess I'll never know. More kids were taken away and even more were brought in. No matter what, the room was always full.

Then it was my turn.

The aliens came in and grabbed me by my arm, pushing me out the door. I screamed and fought, crying as I did. I became one of those kids who I'd heard pleading and crying for their parents to save them.

As they strapped me to the table, I cried for my mom… I cried for my dad and two brothers. I cried for the other kids who had been taken away. I cried for myself.

I don't know how long I was left there, strapped to the table and unable to move. My tears had run out long before, my voice nothing but a croak.

I was resigned to my fate.

I still had no idea what the aliens were doing to us. I knew the parasites on the few kids I had seen were part of whatever they were doing, but that was it.

Tensing, I felt a slimy claw-like hand gently ghost across the skin on my arm. All that calm and resignation vanished in an instant. My heart started to pound again, my breathing quickening.

A loud slurping sound reached my ears and I tried to lift my head to see what had made the sound. It was very close by. Unable to do so, I let my head rest back in the circular hole in the table, tears dripping from my face to hit the dirty ground with silent splashes.

Something hit my legs.

I screamed.

I screamed for my mom and I screamed for my dad. I screamed for help… and I pleaded for my captors to stop.

They didn't stop.

No help arrived.

The thing on my legs slowly slid up my body and reached my back, where it stopped. I could feel the legs of the creature through the thin material of my t-shit. It slid forward again until part of it was right at the base of my neck.

I was hyperventilating.

The alien's hand lifted off my arm.

The creature on my back lifted up, I could feel a cool breeze rippling across my t-shirt.

I felt it slam back into my back, sharp needle-like things piercing through the skin as it did.

The pain vanished as soon as it had started.

I gasped, my breath catching in my throat as I choked.

My body seized up. I was no longer able to move any part of it.

There was a voice inside my head.

I blacked out.

I was theirs now.

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**What did you think? I did base this a little off the harnessing scene in season 2, episode 4. It is one of my favourite scenes in the entire series – it was a very creepy, disturbing scene, but I liked the rawness of it. **

**Please review! In your review, let me know who you'd like to see next! And any ideas for that character :) Hal? Tom? Jimmy? Dai? Weaver? It just has to be set pre-season 1. **

**Thanks for reading.**


	2. Tom

**MEMORIIS VIVENTIUM**

_**DancerInTheDark101**_

* * *

_We shall remember the dead, but fight for the living. When the skies fell on that fateful day, nothing was ever the same again. A series of oneshots about key moments in the lives of those in the Second Massachusetts. Set pre-season 1._

* * *

-FALLING SKIES-

_Tom_

The thing I remember the most is her face. She was just lying there, eyes closed, as if she were just sleeping, her dark lashes brushing against shockingly pale cheekbones. But it was the nearly translucent tone to her skin that held my attention the most. It made the dark bruises stand out even more vividly, the purple quickly fading as there was no blood pooling to the injured area anymore.

Her pale skin reinforced the fact that she was not just sleeping.

My wife was dead.

She was dead and I was now a single father with three children, (one of which was missing) stuck in a war-torn world, fighting a war that I didn't think could be won.

Rebecca was dressed in her finest clothes, her hands clasped together and lying gently on her stomach. The boys didn't know, but the clothes hid the worst of her injuries. The Skitters hadn't been kind to her.

I forced the tears back as I stared at her still form. I had to be strong for Hal and Matt. They were in mourning as well – mourning the loss of their mother and struggling over the sudden disappearance of their sibling. If I couldn't hold it together for them, then who would?

Matt was crying. His curly golden hair fell into his eyes as he swiped a hand across them, trying to erase the salty drops from his face. I watched as he blinked rapidly, tears falling from golden lashes and trailing down his face. He looked up; his arm falling to his side as he once again caught sight of his mother lying very still in a make-shift casket.

He burst into tears and I felt my heart shatter all over again. I started to reach over to comfort my youngest son, only to be halted as my eldest wrapped an arm around Matt.

I stood there and watched as Hal knelt down to his brother's eye level and pulled him into a tight embrace; his head resting on Matt's shoulder as the younger sibling cried into Hal's shirt.

I screwed my eyes shut, trying – and failing – to stop the tears from falling. This wasn't fair. I didn't deserve to lose my wife and my boys definitely didn't deserve to lose their mother. And then with Ben missing…

It wasn't the first time in the few, long days since Rebecca's death that I wondered if I would be able to bring my boys through this tragedy. Was I really equipped to deal with this? I was a history professor, not a soldier of war. Both Hal and Matt had had better relationships with Rebecca than I. She'd been able to connect with them on a better level than I. I… I'd been closer to Ben. Mainly because we had much more in common than the other two – Ben and I could stay up for hours talking about books, lessons and other such things.

But don't get me wrong, I love my other sons just as much as I did Ben. I just wondered how I was supposed to help Hal and Matt through this terrible time when I didn't have the faintest idea on how to.

How does a parent help his children through an alien invasion, the death of their mother and disappearance of their sibling? How on earth was I supposed to cope?

"May we have a moment of silence for the dearly departed…"

I froze when the priest spoke up. My eyes drifted back to the inert form of my wife before slipping over to where Hal and Matt were standing. Both of their eyes were rimmed in red, tears making tracks down their pale faces.

We had one last chance to say goodbye to the woman I loved. Matt hesitantly approached Rebecca, his lower lip trembling. He reached out with a shaking hand and placed it on his mother's cold face before leaning down and placing a chaste kiss on her cheek. I felt my heart explode.

"Bye Mommy…"

"I love you, Mom. Rest in peace…" That was Hal, his voice shaking ever-so-slightly, betraying the calm his body was portraying.

Then it was my turn.

I approached my wife, staring at her cold and unmoving body with tears in my eyes. Copying my youngest son, I leant down and kissed her blue-tinged lips.

"I love you. I'll take care of the boys, Becca. You look after them from up there and I'll do my best to take care of them down here. Rest in peace…"

Standing, I reached out and gripped Hal's hand with my right and Matt's with my left.

It was time.

I watched as several men stood and lowered the lid on the hand-crafted casket. It was nailed shut with several deafening thuds, the sound echoing through my mind. The men then pulled out the wooden planks from underneath the wooden box, and gripping the ropes strung tight, began to lower the casket into the freshly dug hole.

It was to be Rebecca's final resting place.

I was no longer Tom Mason; history professor, wife to Rebecca and father to Hal, Ben and Matt. I was Tom Mason; war survivor, widower, single father to Hal, Ben (I refused to think that he was dead) and Matt.

Even now, I struggle every day. We found Ben after months of searching and it's been a long and arduous journey since that day of Rebecca's funeral. My kids are growing up in a world full of chaos, death and destruction. They're growing into soldiers, fighting a war that never should have begun in the first place.

And me?

I'm a soldier – a commander for a militia regiment, fighting against the invading forces. I watch every day as my friends, comrades and children go off and fight, never knowing whether they'll come back in one piece. I fight, and I kill. Life goes on.

But inside?

Inside I'm falling apart.

And it started with the day my wife died.

But I'll continue to fight. As long as there is breath in my body, I will fight. I'll fight for my deceased wife; I'll fight for my friends and comrades.

But most of all, I'll fight for my children.

I made a promise all those months ago – a promise that I'd do my best to take care of them. And I will do that, to my dying day.

I'm Tom Mason and I'm a father, doing my best to protect my children.

_Near, far, wherever you are_

_I believe that the heart does go on_

_Once more you open the door_

_And you're here in my heart_

_And my heart will go on and on_

_Love can touch us one time_

_And last for a lifetime_

_And never let go till we're gone_

-Celine Dion; My Heart Will Go On-

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Okay, that didn't exactly come out as I planned… I hope it isn't a big jumble of mess! Sorry for the lack of updates lately. I've been extremely busy and have hit a bit of a block with Two Sides of the Same Coin. However, I am doing the NaNoWriMo this year (a new fic for Falling Skies), so fingers crossed there'll be a FINISHED fic going up in a few months! For those interested, this is the title and summary…

_A World Since Forgotten_

_The aliens… the invasion… the harnessing… What if it never happened? Ben Mason wakes from a six month coma to a world he thought he'd left behind._

So yeah… :)

Please leave a review and let me know what you think of Tom's chapter! I've got some ideas for Matt, Hal, Jimmy and Weaver as well, so hopefully in the next week they'll be up.

Thanks for taking the time to read! I really appreciate it.


	3. Jimmy

It's Jimmy's turn! I love his character – especially in season 2. He's so bad ass :P I wrote this while hitting a bit of a block on my NaNoWriMo Falling Skies fic, hoping to get the creative juices flowing again. I don't know if it worked yet.

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed! I really appreciate all the feedback and support. This one's for you!

* * *

**MEMORIIS VIVENTIUM**

_**DancerInTheDark101**_

* * *

_We shall remember the dead, but fight for the living. When the skies fell on that fateful day, nothing was ever the same again. A series of oneshots about key moments in the lives of those in the Second Massachusetts. Set pre-season 1._

* * *

-FALLING SKIES-

_Jimmy_

They stared at me; stared at me with their cold, dead eyes. Their skin had started to pale as the blood that had once been flowing through their veins stood still. My breath hitched as I fought back the tears, to no avail. They broke free, falling down my cheeks in an unstoppable torrent. My knees gave way and I fell to the ground, sobbing as I reached forward to grip the sleeve of my dead mother's jacket.

Why? Why did they have to die? Why did they have to leave me alone in this strange new world?

"Mom… Dad…"

If only I hadn't decided to skip school that day… If only I had been home with them… I don't know what I would have done to stop it, but at least I would have been with them.

Why did I survive?

I didn't hear the noises until it was too late. There was a shuffling sound, followed by a strange clicking. Sniffling, I turned to see what it was and froze, my eyes going wide. I tried to scream, but nothing would come out.

One of the aliens stood before me, shifting on it's six legs. It's black, beady eyes bored into mine and I found myself trembling uncontrollably under it's gaze. They'd killed my family and were now coming back for me…

It lunged forward and I screwed my eyes shut, a whimper escaping as I hunched over.

BANG!

There were several more shots and thuds, followed by a few expletives. Then there was silence. I was now hyperventilating, my eyes still screwed tightly shut. Someone had come to kill the creature and would then turn on me.

"C'mon, kiddo…" The voice was unexpected. Rough and low, it was the voice of a soldier.

A hand was suddenly pulling at my arm, trying to pry me away from my mother's body. I shrieked and tore my arm out of the grip, flinging myself back towards my family. I couldn't leave them. I wouldn't leave them.

"Shit."

The hand grabbed my shoulder this time and I spun around, tears still falling. "No! You can't take me! I won't leave them!"

"Aww, crap…" Another voice spoke up. They'd obviously just spotted my family.

"Captain, there's more coming! We gotta get the hell outta here!"

Someone knelt down before me, a hand reaching out and lifting my chin so my eyes met his. My lips trembled as I looked into his eyes. I was so scared…

"It's okay, kid. You're okay…" I said nothing, instead focusing on my breathing as it became harder and harder to do so. "Just breathe kid… just breathe."

"Captain!" The urgency was unmistakable.

"We're gonna move out now, okay kid? We're gonna take you to a safe place."

I didn't move.

The soldier before me sighed warily. "Okay, kid. We don't have time for this. Either you come willingly or we take you by force. Your choice."

I looked up at that, glaring. "My name's not 'kid!'"

The soldier's eyes narrowed. "Alright then, what _is_ your name?"

I didn't answer. The man sighed again and stood, the menacing gun strapped across his chest shifting slightly.

He held out a hand. I stared at it before looking back to the bodies of my parents. Did I want to live? Without them? Did I _deserve_ to live?

"James…" I whispered.

"What was that?" the soldier asked as I gripped his hand tight and he hauled me to my feet.

"My name is James…"

"James…" the man murmured. "Mind if I call you Jimmy? We already got a James – could get confusing."

I shook my head slowly.

"Alright then, Jimmy." A tired smile briefly lifted the corners of his mouth. "My name's Captain Dan Weaver. Don't worry, I'll look after you."

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There's another one done! I hope you all liked this (very) short piece. I always liked the relationship between Weaver and Jimmy. This is probably _VERY_ AU, but meh, I think it works :) Please review! Who would you like to see next?


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